How to spot signs of far-right radicalisation

We live in unpredictable times and many people are confused and looking for answers. Sadly, this makes people, especially the young, more vulnerable to recruitment by the far right who exploit these fears to promote their racist agenda by giving them ready-made answers and a sense of purpose and belonging. As parents, teachers or community leaders, it is our duty to steer young people away from extremist narratives. 

Sometimes it’s natural for an adolescent to go through an uncharacteristically rebellious and aggressive phase, but there are certain noticeable behavioural changes that are more common to far-right radicalisation and extremism.
If someone is radicalised by the far right, they might:

• be hostile towards people from a certain country, religious group, sexual orientation or cultural background, especially Muslims
• recite simplistic and prejudiced arguments about immigration and minorities, seeing them as a threat to ‘our way of life’ or blaming them for global or local issues
• feel persecuted, referring to a ‘liberal, elite establishment agenda’ or ‘Jewish conspiracy’
• see white Britons as under threat of racial and cultural extinction and say that they have to ‘take action’
• share extremist or divisive views, especially on immigration and Islam, on their social media
• significantly change their appearance and clothing
• adopt the use of certain symbols associated with far-right or neo-Nazi organisations, distribute extremist literature, such as leaflets promoting far-right rallies
• become increasingly secretive about their online activities.

When someone you know exhibits some or all of the behaviours above, you should look into it further. The first step is understanding why they’ve changed. Usually young people fall prey to radicalisation because they feel:

• isolated and lonely
• angry at the world
• confused about the reasons for their misfortunes or situation
• purposeless, without direction or hope
• unprotected, lacking adult guidance.

If you’re concerned about your child, student, sibling or friend becoming vulnerable to far-right radicalisation and recruitment, you should:

• talk to them in a direct but sensitive, non-judgemental manner
• raise the issue with their close family
• talk to one of their friends to establish if something’s wrong in their social life
• challenge their opinions by offering an alternative argument.

Small Steps is here to give you all the support you need to help guide someone away from this divisive and potentially dangerous lifestyle. If you need advice or help, either give us a call or email us. You can also sign up to one of our far-right awareness training courses . We will be running such courses soon at Asclepius......

Spotting Far Right Codes

White supremacists and the far right often use codes to mark their territory and communicate with one another. They may look harmless but they have hidden meanings that carry extremely violent messages.

The numbers below are codes often used by far-right extremists. If you see them tattooed on someone, carved on a school desk or graffitied in your area, contact Small Steps at info@smallsteps.ltd or call our hotline 07539 220 683 for more information and advice.

• 14 14, or Fourteen Words, is a Nazi symbol referring to the white supremacist slogan, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”.
• 18 18 is code for Adolf Hitler. The number comes from the position of the letters in the alphabet (1=A and 8=H). It’s commonly associated with the British white supremacist group Combat 18 or C18.
• 28 28 is a white supremacist code for Blood & Honour, a UK-based neo-Nazi music promotion network with branches across the world.
• 88 88 is a neo-Nazi code standing for Heil Hitler, the Nazi salute. The number 8 represents the letter H.
• 318 318 is code for British white supremacist group Combat 18 – 3 representing C, and 18 Adolf Hitler.